Yes You Can Change Your Body & Improve Your Health

“No matter your bad habits or genes, you can put the past behind you, change your body and improve your health,” explained Dr. Michael Roizen at a private dinner presentation I recently attended, hosted by Access Circles in New York. Access Circles is an exclusive, by invitation only membership group based in the US.

Dr Mike Roizen is a well known health personality in the US, the chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic, a best-selling author, one of the YOU docs with Dr Mehmet Oz, a radio host, and founder of the popular www.RealAge.com website. He has an easy conversational style of presenting and uses his years of experience in the healthcare industry to inform and motivate positive thinking on how to achieve better health outcomes.

We Are Increasingly Unhealthy

More than a third of Americans are overweight or obese.

Nearly a third of Americans will have diabetes by 2015.

About 600 000 die from heart disease every year, comprising nearly a quarter of all deaths.

In 2010 there were 607 million people in the world diagnosed as pre-diabetic/diabetic and this is predicted to reach 180 million in the USA alone by 2050.

These were just a few (there were many more) sobering statistics that he shared, and while I know we all read about this in the media, it’s still hard to believe the numbers when they are stacked up on a slide. They are just so staggeringly bad!

“We’re a society that eats too much, moves too little, stresses all the time and doesn’t get enough sleep.” Roizen adds: “50% of Americans’ physical activity decreased to less than 10 minutes a week, but at the same time body mass index is 25 pounds heavier compared with the same person 20 years ago.”

Why?

Well, we don’t manage stress, we eat too much inexpensive food and we don’t exercise! We have also outsourced our health.

Dr Mike Roizen

Dr Roizen says we all know that many things can heal our wounds: medication, surgery, time. Modern medicine now has the power to fix so many health problems with what seems like a flip of the switch. And while everyone certainly knows that we can’t cure everything, it’s true that we live in a time of unprecedented medical breakthroughs that have the power to improve and extend lives. However, by relying on the medical advances and experts to band-aid our problems, we’ve relinquished our power to live strong, healthy, energetic and satisfying lives.

The real power is in creating a healthy body to prevent the health issues in the first place.

“You have to do the work, not the doctor.”

He believes unhealthy habits are reversible.

“No matter what kind of lifestyle you have led, what bad habits you may have, you have the ability to get on track, start over and reboot your body so that you can live a healthy life. You can change the way your genes function through your lifestyle choices.”

Some Key Health Insights From Dr Roizen On How To Improve Your Body & Longevity

The more fat in your diet, the more potential you have for breast cancer.

Avoid antibiotic and alcohol mouthwashes.

Take two baby aspirins a day, not one. The impact is a 40% reduction in major cancers, and it reduces the risk of heart and/or stroke by 2,5%.

Drink coffee (preferably black) for fast metabolisers. This will vary per individual and also depending on your caffeine tolerance.

Make sure you do 40 jumps a day. (I’ve been doing this. It’s fun!)

Eat a serving of fresh tomato products a week.

Walk more. Walking decreases severe prostate cancers by 7%.

If you want to eat red meat or egg yolks, you must use 100% extra virgin olive oil with the meal to reduce inflammation. This is especially important if you are eating a lot of protein. Check the label to ensure that it’s ethical, good quality and not diluted with palm oil. Palm oil is a carcinogen.

Cardio and resistance training is key to physical health as you age. Your grip strength predicts disability and death.

Fasting is good for periodic calorie reduction.

Take a daily probiotic, but make sure it is a live-spore probiotic. (Interestingly, Dr Roizen takes several different live spore probiotics during the week.)

Dr Roizen’s personal experiences and daily habits are well chronicled in his book “This is your Do-Over”: The 7 secrets to losing weight, living longer and getting a second change at the life you want.

Dr Roizen’s advice is simple, easy to implement and empowering. As he suggests: “The science says you can change your body from inside out. So forgive yourself. Put the past behind you and move forward to better health.”

Dr Mike Roizen and Gisele Wertheim Aymes at dinner with Access Circles, New York

The Author

Gisèle Wertheim Aymes

Gisèle is the owner of the Longevity brand and a self-proclaimed health hedonist. When she is not working, you'll find in her in a yoga class or active in the great outdoors. Gisèle is passionate about health and sharing information. You can follow her @giselewaymes on Twitter and Instagram or read her Linked-In profile for full bio details https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisle-wertheim-ayms-04632212